Google risks EU sanctions for failing to respond to legally binding request

Search engine behemoth Google has received a warning from the European Union (EU) that it could face fines for neglecting to reply to a legally binding request for information (RFI) centered around its generative AI capabilities.

In a statement issued on Friday, the EU stated that Microsoft failed to provide information about systematic risks posed by generative AI tools when it made the demand back in March.

The corporation has until May 27 to provide the necessary data or risk enforcement, under the Commission’s directive. Under the DSA, a single answer to a formal RFI containing inaccurate, deceptive, or incomplete information may result in a solitary fine of 1% of worldwide annual turnover.

The Commission may additionally impose “periodic penalties” of up to 5% of the company’s average daily revenue or worldwide annual turnover if the data is not produced by that date.

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“The request for information is based on the suspicion that Bing may have breached the DSA for risks linked to generative AI, such as so-called ‘hallucinations’, the viral dissemination of deepfakes, and the automated manipulation of services that can mislead voters,” the Commission wrote in a press release.

“Under the DSA, designates of services, including Bing, must carry out an adequate risk assessment and adopt respective risk mitigation measures (Art 34 and 35 of the DSA). Generative AI is one of the risks identified by the Commission in its guidelines on the integrity of electoral processes, in particular for the upcoming elections to the European Parliament in June.”

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